Do you know that talking on your cell phone while driving increases your chance of having an accident by 400%? Or that you are more impaired while talking in your car than you would be if you were legally intoxicated? How about this – texting while driving increases your chance of collision by over 23 times – thats over 2300%!

Virtually everyone today owns a cell phone, and according to a Harris Poll 72% of people who own a phone and drive use their cell phone in the car. I myself occasionally use my phone in the car even though I know that it is dangerous.

As I discovered while doing my research, there is a huge amount of information out there on this subject – on the web, in magazines and newspapers, on the radio and TV – it’s a very hot topic. I originally was going to be for NO talking on the cell phone and absolutely NO texting while driving. However, after further consideration I decided to adopt the more reasonable position stated by CITA – the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry – a pro cell phone advocacy group. Here is how I came to this stance.

There is no question that talking and texting while driving is dangerous. This is indisputable. A 2003 Harvard Center of Risk Analysis study indicated that six percent of all yearly accidents on the road are caused by cell phone use. This translates as 330,000 injuries, of which 12,000 are serious – and 2,600 deaths. These numbers are almost certainly higher now, seven years later, as the number of cell phones and cell phone users steadily increases. (more…)